The Wilbur Section resident was remembered as a fighter, rabble rouser and outspoken community leader. Clark passed away suddenly at the age of 49 at his home on Sunday from kidney failure. Present and past elected officials, friends, and neighbors attended the four-hour funeral.

The overflow crowd swarmed into the church’s balcony, and some mourners were standing against the church’s walls.

“Dion was one of the people who always spoke his mind,” Andrew Bobbitt said in remarks during the service. “Dion said whatever he wanted. When he ran for City Council, I tried to tell him he can’t say whatever he wanted. In politics, you can’t always tell the truth,” Bobbit said.

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Clark ran for local and county offices several times but was unsuccessful in all attempts. He was a weekly regular at City Council meetings over the last decade. At the council meeting this week, a moment of silence was observed for Clark.

City Council members George Muschal, Phyllis Holly-Ward, Alex Bethea, Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Zachary Chester and Marge Caldwell-Wilson sat in the front of the church and later read a proclamation on the city’s behalf.

In his 20-minute eulogy, Pastor Mark A. Broach vowed to fight for the same things Dion did. He urged spectators not to let Clark’s legacy die.

“When Dion arrived on the scene,” Broach said, “he wasn’t afraid to fight. He had the courage and determination like David from the Bible.”

Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes and former City Mayor Douglas H. Palmer were in attendance.

“Dion was a fighter. He loved his community, family, neighborhood,” Palmer said in his remarks.

Clark received many awards throughout his life, including the Frank D. Middleton III Award for his community activism.

Clark worked as a housing inspector for about a year before his health prevented him from continuing. Former Trenton Director of Inspections Len Pucciatti said, “Dion had his heart in the right place. He cared about the East Ward. I have to tip my hat to him for never giving up.”

“Dion was forever getting folks to join him in cleaning up Walnut Ave. He’d also arrange for City Officials to walk down Walnut Avenue with him while he pointed out properties that needed repair work, drug havens, Dion was fearless,” she said.

Clark was the most adamant about the Wilbur section for years about rampant crime, among other issues. He played a major role in the summer of 2008 in having a large police presence on Walnut Avenue under the-then “Zero Tolerance” policy of former police director Joseph Santiago. Mobile police units with large lighting booths were set up on each corner of Walnut Avenue.

A few years ago the city’s Transit Center, along with side streets and alleys also in the East Ward, became convenient places for illegal dumpers. Clark pressured Amtrak and city officials to clean up those sites.

In his younger years, he took on a troubled car wash that once stood at the corner of Chambers Street and Euclid Avenue. The car wash had gambling, prostitution, drugs being sold. Clark led the charge in getting the car wash closed. Clark also felt that city officials abused their privileges by taking city-issued cars home.

Despite failing health, last week, Clark was upset about the conditions of the Greg Grant Park. The park’s water fountain was not working. The grass was not cut. The restrooms were not working.

One relative suggested that a park, a street, and a foundation be named after her uncle’s legacy.

Mayor Tony F. Mack was not present. The mayor’s business administrator, Sam Hutchinson, and mayoral aides, Paul Harris, Anthony Robert were in attendance. A resolution was read on behalf of the city from Hutchinson.

Clark is survived by his parents Charles and Virginia, whom he lived with, and a son, Zane Clark Jr.